He Came Dressed As The Goblin King
by Dyassie
Summary: Sarah goes to a Halloween party, but who shows up there as well?


He Came Dressed As The Goblin King

With the masquerade scene, Jareth's unique outfits and Halloween upon us, a Halloween party seemed a good fit for him to seamlessly merge into the crowd among others to interact with Sarah.

However, I ended up with two different stories.

Hidden Behind A Mask was the first one, but felt a bit too contrived and over the top. But when I went back and read over it after reading the first one, I could not delete it and thought some might still like it.

He Came Dressed As The Goblin King was the second one that was meant as a rewrite that is more casual.

* * *

"This is going to be an interesting Halloween party."

"I can't believe they are having it there," Sarah exclaimed having eagerly looked forward to this party since being invited over a week ago. The party was to be held in a long abandoned mansion. The owners had inherited the building and it stood dormant most of the time, but the person hosting the party knew the family and had gotten permission from them to use the place.

Since going off to college she had passed the place nearly every day and wondered about the inside and now she was finally going to get a chance to see it.

Her friend nudged into her as the dark shadow of the place came into view. "You know they say that the place is haunted."

"I heard." Her voice was distant as she gazed up at the place lost in her own thoughts.

"Well…do you believe it…I don't." Her friend's attempt to give off a sarcastic attitude to confirm her claim and cover her fear was failing. "I mean really…ghosts…do you?"

Sarah shrugged. "It is possible." She had experienced something just as unbelievable before.

The mansion's eerie allure with its Victorian gothic architecture of pointed arches and flying buttresses forewarned of sinister events that the night of All Hallows Eve was renowned for. For a girl who had always loved living her imagination in a fantasy land, Sarah loved Halloween. It was a time of the year where anything seemed possible to her. She thrived on the tales of the supernatural that were whispered in the darkness of the night to put the fright into people.

"Did you see that?"

"What?" Sarah's head spun to her friend in question.

"Over there." The other girl pointed to the end of the porch that was shadowed with no one standing there.

"I don't see anything, Jen."

Her blond hair flew around as she shook her head. "There was a man, a very good-looking man standing there watching you."

"Really…," she said skeptical that her friend had seen anything, "maybe he was looking at you instead. You are the one who saw him."

"Sarah, I saw something."

"Okay, I believe you did, but if it was a man, where would he have disappeared to?" There was no place to hide in that corner or to leap from the porch with the bushes that stood in front. "Maybe it was a raccoon or something on the rail that you saw."

"I guess. Let's go in." Sarah felt Jen's urgently to get inside, where she might feel a little more comfortable. She could not believe how jumpy Jen had gotten. It was not like her. But Sarah supposed that a house like this on a creepy night might get a lot of people nervous.

"By the way," Jen said as she followed Sarah through the door, "I like your costume."

"Thanks, yours too. You look great."

"Yeah maybe so, but I like yours better."

Sarah was wearing the costume of an early female adventurer that she had put together herself. She had on a pair of dark gray leggings leading into shiny black boots topped with an off-white shirt with puffy sleeves adorned with a blood-red corset stopping right above Sarah's cleavage. And her hair fell down her back in a braid with wisps purposefully poking out around Sarah's ears like they had come loose after many days of travel.

"There he is again." Jen grabbed her shoulder forcing her to look across the room. Turning back herself, Jen sighed,"He's gone already. He was watching you again. I swear it."

"Okay, I am going to go get something to drink. Maybe you should too. Or something to eat. Calm your nerves."

"No, I fine." Jen shot Sarah an annoyed glance. "I am going to go find a bathroom. I will be right back."

"Okay, but if not, I am coming to find you." Sarah nudged her. "Or, maybe not. Remember never say I will be right back in a supposedly haunted house especially on Halloween. Could be an axe-murderer hiding out somewhere."

"Ha, ha very funny." Jen turned on her heel walking off.

"You don't believe that do you," a familiar voice spoke behind her. She spiraled around.

"Oh, Colin," she laughed. "No, but I am beginning to think that Jen is trying to scare me, so I was just trying to get her back. She keeps claiming such man is watching me."

"She's not lying about that."

"Oh really?" Sarah shoved a hand on her hip playfully. "So what, are you going to claim you have been since I came in?" Since meeting each other, Colin had harmlessly flirted with Sarah. Sarah knew he wanted more for he had tried to ask her out and she did like him too but she also knew that Jen had a crush on him and did not want things to be awkward among the three of them.

Colin gave a side-grin. "Well, I have, which is how I know that Jen is telling you the truth. He is over there." Colin pointed to a very crowded area. "There ducking behind those people." Sarah saw the back of a figure but that was all before he disappeared into the crowd.

"If he is really watching me, then why does he not want to be seen?"

"Who knows?" Colin elbowed her. "Maybe you have a stalker?" He gave her a wink. "I could hover around and protect you from him. Make sure you are safe."

"I am sure you would." Sarah gently shoved him as if she was just playing to force him to give her some space. "But you could do something for me…"

"Sure, what is it," Colin asked almost too eagerly.

"When Jen gets back, keep an eye on her. She has me a bit worry." Sarah got an idea. "Why don't you ask her to dance? She would love that."

"Oh." Colin's face fell a little. "But I was hoping maybe we could later..."

"Have our own dance," Sarah finished for him in a rush to leave and do what she needed to, "Sure maybe later, but I know Jen loves to dance and you know what?"

"What," Colin asked still a little downtrodden.

"Jen said she thinks you are very handsome."

"Really," Colin instantly perked up, "She said that?"

"She did," Sarah grinned pleased with Colin's reaction.

"There she is. I'll tell her what is going on and ask her for that dance." Colin almost ran over her to get to Jen. Sarah found it funny how easily forgotten she was, but relieved at the same time.

"He is a fool to leave you like that," a low voice whispered in her ear. Sarah turned around to find no one there. She began searching the room until her eyes met his. He was leaning casually against the wall dressed in his grey leggings, black boots, white shirt, brown-red jacket that hung down behind him and his black gloves. His mismatched eyes surveyed her taking her fully in before knowingly smiling at her, pushing himself forward. His legs moved with long lengthy strides as he crossed the room to her.

Sarah could not take her eyes from him. She could not even move. Standing like a statue, she could only watch with stupefaction as he closed the gap between them.

Reaching her, he took her right hand in his, placing his left at her waist pulling her into a dance. The music had turned slowed. In a daze, Sarah moved with him.

"I should run, shouldn't I?"

"You should." But she found that she couldn't. Something was preventing her from doing so.

"Why can't I then?" She felt trapped in their dance. Like there was no escape from him or his magic.

"Only you can answer that." He pulled her slightly closer to his body.

"You're keeping me here somehow." She knew it was the only reasonable answer. He was using magic to somehow prevent her from fleeing.

He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "You have already proven your will to be stronger than my magic. You can do better than that. Think Sarah, think."

Still not able to break eye contact with him, she continued to stare into those mysteriously mismatched eyes of his entranced by what they held within them. He wanted her to come up with the answer on her on. That is why he would not just tell her. What was it that he wanted her to discover?

"Why are you here?"

His eyes sparkled. "For you."

"Why?"

"You already know."

And she did. "Because you want to take me back with you."

"I do. I have waited long enough. And your outfit will do you perfectly. It is like you already knew."

"I won't go." She would not. She would fight him every step of the way if she had to. "You've already said that my will is too strong. I can fight your magic."

"But you won't and you will. You will come with me. And you won't fight me." His voice with soft but spoke with certainty. "If you were, you would have already done so. Think Sarah, why haven't you fled? Why do you still dance with me?"

Again with that question. He was determined that she had to figure it out, but why? What could he possibly think she would gain from its answer? She knew that if he was not his magic, then it must be her own fear keeping her trapped here. But she wasn't afraid. She had stood up to him before and had won. So, why couldn't she get away from him? What was keeping her here?

At that moment, she glimpse a grandfather clock behind Jareth's shoulder and for just the briefest of seconds she thought she saw the number thirteen, but it had been her imagination.

It helped her to recall something and she knew why she could not go.

"Because I don't want to." Once before she had danced with him, but she had been forced to leave to rescue Toby from him. But this time, she did not need to. She had no reason to run away. And she did not want to, not really. Just like she had not really wanted to the first time either.

"And why is that?" His eyes read into her as he whirled her around into a deserted hallway shadowed except for the light stealing into the darkness of the hall. He pressed her up against the wall allowing no space between their bodies as he again asked, "Why do you not want to leave?" He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "It is the answer to everything."

Blood coursed through her veins even as it felt her heart struggled to beat. He was asking a question she could not answer for she did not know herself.

"I…I don't know."

His gloved hand came up and stroked her face. "But you do Sarah."

A quiver ran down her spine at his touch. Her eyes instinctively closed as her lips parted.

Why did he insist on torturing her? She wished he would just kiss her already. The heat from his body pressed against her made her wish he would do something, anything, to move this along, to stop this ache within her.

She felt the heat of his breath on her ear. "Just be honest with yourself. What do you want?"

"You," she almost cried. And she knew what he had wanted. What he wanted her to come to truth with.

Her eyes opened as she turned to meet his. "I want you Jareth. I have always wanted you."

His mouth crushed to hers, his tongue parting her lips to dance in a fevered passion with hers, his body pressed heavily against hers.

She could feel his desire growing stronger as she craned her neck letting his lips travel their way down its length.

"Jareth, the others," her voice came out in a breathy urge to remind him that someone could come across them in this position.

He groaned as he pulled back. Brushing her lips with his, he told her, "Just say the words."

She threw her arms around his neck kissing him deeply. "Goblin King, take me away."

And he did. They disappeared into the night to forever be together.

And every year on Halloween, they join a party dressed as the Goblin King and his Queen.


End file.
